76.2K
Downloads
108
Episodes
A podcast on music and capitalism hosted by Saxon Baird and Sam Backer. Dropped every other week.
Episodes
Monday Jul 18, 2022
Monday Jul 18, 2022
Over the last few years, K-Pop has taken the world by storm. Groups like BTS and BLACKPINK have reached pinnacles of music-biz success both traditional (selling out stadiums worldwide) and distinctly modern (see: serving as the center for a vast and dedicated online community of fans across the globe). But while such groups have received mountains of breathless hype from the western media, this coverage has consistently failed to explain what K-Pop really is—or how it works.
To help us learn more, we spoke to Kara of The Idolcast, one of the best English-language resources for understanding this complex music industry. Tracing the story of K-pop from its beginnings in post-dictatorship South Korea to its present-day prominence, we talk geo-political dynamics of government-funded culture, the amount of dance training it takes to learn those synchronized moves, why it’s necessary to have a “goofy” one, “Johnny & Associates,” whether idol fandom challenges the basic categories of the American music industry and the glory that is “Bistro SMAP.” We couldn't get to everything, obviously, but... get ready to go a WHOLE lot deeper than “BTS is the New Beatles.”
Listen to The Idolcast!
Wednesday Jul 06, 2022
Wednesday Jul 06, 2022
If you’ve been anywhere near…really, any music playing device lately, you’ve probably noticed that Kate Bush (Misty-Moored British Chanteuse and Big Boi’s favorite artist) has a full-blown new-old hit in a way that we really haven’t seen before? Her song “Running up that Hill (A Deal With God)” was featured heavily in the latest season of the hit Netflix show Stranger Things and it’s sort of taken on a life of its own. As Ms. Bush busts through chart-record after chart-record, we take a step back and try to think through the phenomenon. Is this different than other songs in other movies? How does it reflect the unique dynamics of our streaming moment? And what might the track’s popularity have to do with our continuing reconstruction of 80’s aesthetics?
Life’s been a bit crazy over at M4N HQ lately, so this is a BONUS episode, and it’s a bit shorter than normal. We’ll be back in a week or two with another full-lengthier (and hopefully, some extra post-degree free-time from both Saxon and Sam)
Monday Jun 20, 2022
Monday Jun 20, 2022
The music industry isn’t a monolith and few scenes have a more distinctive structure than electronic music. As it developed from house and techno to today’s endless array of genres, the music traded the artist-heavy focus of rap or rock for constellations of high-profile DJs, faceless producers, and—most importantly for today’s episode—a host of iconic independent labels. In a hyper-consolidated, major label world, these indies have not only survived but (sometimes) thrived, defining the aesthetic development of scene after scene both before AND after the internet-driven shifts of the 2000’s. But...how did that work? And how do independents fit into the economy of electronic music more generally? To learn more, we were delighted to talk to music journalist Chal Ravens who hosts the podcast “Relevant Parties” profiling legendary labels from DFA and Ninja Tune to Exit and Ed Banger. Our freewheeling conversation touched on everything from the idea of “curation” in the age of Spotify and how Myspace allowed producers to outflank major labels to the informational economy of the club…and whole lot more.
Music: CZ Wang and Neo Image - "Just Off Wave"
Tuesday Jun 07, 2022
Tuesday Jun 07, 2022
If you haven’t noticed, things have gotten...hairy in the economy. Inflation is up, the stock market is down, and the fed’s money machine? It stopped going “brrr.” All of this suggests that we might be leaving the VERY long, frothy period where companies (looking at you Uber!) didn’t need to muddy their hands with things like “earning profits” in order to reshape our lives, cities, communities, and consciousness. But if that’s REALLY happening…what does it mean for the music industry? Saxon and Sam try to connect macro-economic upheaval to entertainment activity, puzzling through how a return of market-based reality could remake streaming, the financialization of song-rights, the major labels, and maybe—just maybe—open up some space for the kind of limited, tend-your-garden community that has been difficult to conceptualize over the past 14 years of “go big or go home” tech. Are we probably wrong? Definitely. But sometimes the only way to get ready for a change is to make some predictions.
Music: Hermeto Pascoal - "Dança do Pajé"
Monday May 23, 2022
Monday May 23, 2022
We all know that the musical landscape has changed in recent years. Tik Tok, Youtube, playlist culture, social media, and on and on and on—they’ve all remade how we listen, and what we listen to. But when folks (including us?) discuss those changes, they all too frequently focus on the big picture at the expense of the details. Streaming is over a decade old now. How…has it changed? That’s why we were so excited to talk to Andrew Unterberger, a journalist at Billboard who recently wrote a fascinating piece exploring why new music is taking longer to reach the top of the charts—and spending so much time there once it does. Where breaking on radio (or Tik Tok!) used to be enough, today’s hits take complex routes across any number of platforms on their way to the Billboard Top 40. Talking our way through them reveals the multi-polar, chance-driven, promotion-filled universe that’s driving our current listening. Turns out, it’s a world that’s far more chaotic (and a lot less planned) than either labels—or their critics— would like to admit.
Thursday May 05, 2022
Thursday May 05, 2022
Mike Park has been running Asian Man Records out of his mom’s garage for over two decades with a refreshing approach that might seem unusual by today’s standards: there’s no advances and every release is a handshake agreement. “I do this for the love of music,” writes Park on the label’s About page. “Not for capitalist gain or status recognition. I try my best to do the right things ethically and to believe in helping others instead of striving for profit over people.” Somehow its worked, with Asian Man amassing a small, but powerful catalog/community of underground music comprised of seminal third-wave ska, early Alkaline Trio records, Jeff Rosenstock, Joyce Manor, AJJ and many others. On this episode, Saxon decided to hide the crystal ball, puts away systematic analysis, and erase the galaxy brain chalk board to talk with Park about the very real highs and lows of being an indie label head on the fringes of the music industry. Along the way, the two discuss format changes, early 2K sellout culture, the role of a small label in today’s ecosystem, and lament briefly about the disappearance of Myspace.
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
It’s a debate that’s all the rage. New data suggests that catalog recordings (anything released over 18 months ago) had begun to outstrip new music in the streaming economy. Is this the end of pop as we know it? Is it because the kids just don’t like culture? Is it because….the INTERNET? Well, maybe. But first we need to look at how we get those stats and dig into some quick boomer-listening habit history. From the vagaries of Tik Tok virality to millennials leaving the pop zone, a lot is going into this moment, and we’re here to speculate wildly about all of it.
Monday Apr 04, 2022
Monday Apr 04, 2022
Part 2 of our conversation with Mat Dryhurst on Crypto’s evolving place in the music industry, both major and independent. Dryhurst has long been one of the most active and articulate proponents of these technologies (and the social formations developing around them) and has a deep well of experience and knowledge in this fast-moving space. While we don’t agree on everything, it was very much the kind of conversation that’s needed to push forward our understanding of the billionaire-backed, contractually-decentralized, AI-drenched future that’s beginning to emerge in certain corners of the internet.
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Over the past year, we’ve devoted more than a few episodes to discussions about Crypto, NFTs, and Web3—projects that we’ve been, it feels safe to say…fairly skeptical about. Given that skepticism, we were delighted to have the chance speak to Mat Dryhurst, who hosts the Interdependence podcast with Holly Herndon, for a discussion about Crypto’s evolving place in the music industry, both major and independent. Dryhurst has long been one of the most active and articulate proponents of these technologies (and the social formations developing around them) and has a deep well of experience and knowledge in this fast-moving space. While we don’t agree on everything, it was very much the kind of conversation that’s needed to push forward our understanding of the billionaire-backed, contractually-decentralized, AI-drenched future that’s beginning to emerge in certain corners of the internet. (Part 1 of 2)
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
Tuesday Mar 15, 2022
When Bandcamp announced a few weeks ago that it had been sold, it came as a deep shock to the wide audience of music fans who had come to appreciate its artist-supporting activities and (relatively) equitable financial policies. When they read that it had been sold to Epic Games, the multi-billion dollar creator of the Battle Royale mega-game Fortnite, the widespread reaction was...huh? To try to make sense of the sale, and to figure out what it might mean going forward, Saxon and Sam dig into the histories of the two companies, identifying some compelling similarities (and some equally worrisome-shared trends) that maybe are the first step towards a newly profitable musical future? But also….maybe a wasteland of shattered dreams and fan service.